


A New Bond is Made

by Petri808, Rando29



Series: Fairytail Short Story One Shots [59]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Bonds, F/M, Smile, family fic, lullaby
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-01
Updated: 2020-07-01
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:33:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25011694
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Petri808/pseuds/Petri808, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rando29/pseuds/Rando29
Summary: Lucy and Natsu Dragneel have welcomed a third child into their family and everyone absolutely adores the little girl. It becomes a fun game between the family members to see who can get the infant to smile for the first time. But then one evening when Natsu is out on a mission and their oldest twins are already asleep, Lucy puts the baby to bed. A few minutes later she hears the child fussing so she goes to check on her and finds a sight that brings happy tears to her eyes.
Relationships: Natsu Dragneel/Lucy Heartfilia
Series: Fairytail Short Story One Shots [59]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/686637
Comments: 1
Kudos: 61





	A New Bond is Made

**Author's Note:**

> nalu week day 7 prompt Smile
> 
> just short and sweet. The story idea came from Rando29

By the time Lani was born, Natsu and Lucy Dragneel had already gotten the major points of parenting down. Of course, the first round had been a whirlwind ride since Lucy’s first pregnancy had led to fraternal twins; a girl and a boy. For first time parents, having twins could be a tiresome ordeal that they had no experience to prepare them for. But five years later, they were ready.

She was an adorable child and her siblings Nashi and Ryuu were already fiercely protective of their little sister. At 2 months old, Lani had hit a few milestones. She could hold up her head for a few seconds when on her tummy and her limbs were starting to move in controlled manners. The children could spend hours fussing with her, coaxing the infant to do things like grab their fingers or kick her feet. They even made it a game to see how many times they could get her to make noises.

But the best part for the family was watching the child slowly learn to make different faces. It was common for babies to smile between weeks 6 and 12 and Lani was already making premature attempts at it. When they played with her or did things to make her happy, rudimentary smiles could be seen as upticks in the corners of her mouth. So, they decided to make it a game to see who could get the child to fully smile first.

Oh, how they tried so hard! Natsu, Nashi, and Ryuu spent all the free time they had in this endeavor. They would tickle and tease Lani, pinch at her chubby cheeks, and blow raspberries on her soft tummy. Lani would burble and squeal from their efforts, but a true smile always eluded them. Lucy would watch the entertainment, simply content that her family was spending time with each other and building a bond that she hoped would last their lifetimes.

This went on for a few days, in the mornings before the twins went off to pre-school, when they’d return home, after dinner, all the way up until bedtime if Lani was awake. There were a few times one or the other twin would suddenly start squealing that they’d done it, and Lucy would step in to play referee to stop a fight from happening. But needless to say, no smile.

Then one night while Natsu was away on a mission and the twins were already passed out. Lucy had just finished feeding Lani and put her down for bed. Her bed was calling too, but she still needed to clean up the kitchen from dinner and get the twins school stuff ready for the morning. After checking to make sure Lani had truly fallen asleep, the mother of three set about to finish her tasks.

About 40 minutes later she hears Lani starting to fuss in her crib, perhaps a little gas had woken the child up. She wipes her hands and walks over to their bedroom. But as she gets closer, she hears another female voice wafting through the cracked door; and one she knows very well.

A sheen of moisture wells up in Lucy’s eyes and she stands there frozen in place, just listening to her second mother soothing the child. From her vantage point, she can see Aquarius holding the infant in her arms, rocking the girl gently, and singing the same lullaby the spirit would sing to her as a child whenever she couldn’t fall asleep. She clasps a hand over her mouth in order to stifle the happy sobs welling up in her throat for it was working. Lani had stopped fusing and was drifting back to sleep.

It was rare for the spirits to enter their world without being called, but there was no question in Lucy’s special bond with the tempestuous water bearer. Even though it had taken her years to find Aquarius’ new key, that connection was never broken. Her heart soars at seeing her spirit friend appearing for her daughter now.

Oh my! Lucy gasps lightly, unable to hold back anymore. Lani was smiling in her sleep! The child was beaming as the melodic voice rocked her into dreamland. She braces against the door jamb, still unable to move away, and just watches as the spirit places the contented child back in the crib. Aquarius then pulls the blankets up and tucks it around the child, leaning back for a moment to make sure the child would stay asleep.

Without turning to face her, Lucy hears the spirit speak, “I was never here,” then disappears back to the Celestial realm. Same old Aquarius. But nothing could wipe the smile from Lucy’s face at seeing her old friend or her daughter smile for the first time. Sooner or later Natsu or one of the twins will win their game, but Lucy and Aquarius will know who the true winner really is. 


End file.
